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Red raw rice in a wooden bowl with coconut sambol
Sri Lankan recipes

Red rice with coconut and lunu miris

Nutty red raw rice cooked plainly, with fresh coconut and a sharp onion sambol, an everyday lunch that needs nothing else.

  • 40 min
  • Serves 4
  • Low heat

Red raw rice is what most Sri Lankan villages eat day to day. The bran is left on, so the grains cook up reddish brown with a nutty bite and hold their shape. It takes a little longer than white rice and needs a bit more water, but it is forgiving and it fills you up.

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Method

  1. 1

    Soak the rice

    Rinse the red rice two or three times, then leave it to soak in cold water for 20 minutes. Soaking softens the bran and shortens the cooking time.

  2. 2

    Cook

    Drain the rice and put it in a pan with the water and salt. Bring to the boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes until the water has gone and the grains are tender with a slight bite.

  3. 3

    Rest

    Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes. This is when the grains finish and firm up. Skip it and the rice will be wet.

  4. 4

    Make the lunu miris

    While the rice rests, pound the onion, chilli flakes, pepper and salt in a pestle and mortar until the onion breaks down and the mixture turns red. Add the lime juice and taste. It should be sharp and hot.

  5. 5

    Finish and serve

    Fluff the rice with a fork, stir through the grated coconut and the coconut oil, and serve in bowls with the lunu miris on the side.

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Make this recipe with the rice we bring over from Sri Lanka.

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  • 55 min
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The village rice

Red rice is older than white rice in Sri Lanka and still the one grown on most small farms. Araliya mills it with the bran left on, which is why it keeps its colour, its bite and most of its goodness.

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